Work Text:
If you had a classmate that was a legendary warrior, savior of not one but two worlds from a tyrannical giant newt, you might be more than a bit concerned going up against her in gym class. If she was on your team, you might even assume that you had an easy win in the bag.
I mean sure, she had lost her dominant arm from below the elbow, but she could literally perform feats out of a manga! Not to mention that she had been a formidable athlete even before the world changed forever.
Anne grimly thought about how she must really be failing to live up to the legend right now.
Part of it was balance, a proprioception thing. She had spent her whole life until literally a month ago with two arms, and now her body’s weight distribution was suddenly very different and across her left and right sides. Of course that would affect her balance, especially in midair. If that, along the fact that spiking was nontrivial with her left arm, was all she had to deal with right now, then she might not be judging herself so harshly for her volleyball performance. Especially since it was only gym class.
But every ball that was spiked her way, her brain turned into an energy bolt from some ancient amphibian robot. Or, she imagined it as a piece of shrapnel about to remove yet another limb. Forget actually receiving, she was either actively dodging balls or kicking them out of the way. She nearly beaned some of her classmates in the bleachers a few times doing the latter.
Maybe she shouldn’t have returned to school so soon? Marcy and Sasha hadn’t returned to classes yet, the former spending a lot of time in physical therapy, the latter having an appointment to check on the damage to her right eye, and the both of them constantly either in therapy or simply resting at the Boonchuy’s. Anne could have done the same, but she worried that if she didn’t return now, then she never would. Better to rip the bandaid off sooner rather than later, right?
So here she was freaking out during volleyball, being absolutely miserable, with a teacher who didn’t seem to care one way or another how much she was suffering. At least the two students she had been paired with were being sympathetic, asking if she was ok and reassuring her that it was no big deal. She tuned them out, simply trying to forget the traumatic scenes this class had forced her to relive.
“Might have jumped the gun in coming back, eh Boonchuy? Try not to cause such a ruckus come tomorrow” said her gym teacher contemptuously
Anne shot him a glare when he wasn’t looking, and headed back to the bleachers. She had promised to try to give her teachers more of her respect upon returning, but this guy clearly didn’t deserve it. Who thought that chewing out traumatized kids was an appropriate way to run a class?
Half a year, that’s all I have to survive with this prick as my gym teacher. she thought, grimacing internally.
The rest of the day was a grueling trudge for Anne. She genuinely tried to pay attention in her remaining classes, but the experience from gym kept popping into her head. The reality that she no longer had most of her right arm, the threats on her life she had barely survived, the people she had almost lost, all of them were fighting for brain space. And their combined might made it impossible for her to answer what the first step of the fucking Kreb Cycle was.
-
“So let me get this straight, real life sports bore you to death. You were barely able to pay attention to any of Anne’s tennis matches in the before times. But make it an anime, and suddenly you’re info dumping to me about volleyball?”
Sasha feigned incredulity, but honestly the joy on Marcy’s face was a sight for sore eyes. She was determined to cherish every one of Marcy’s rants, so long as she could continue to see that smile.
“I mean I had no idea that volleyball was such an interesting game before! I mean the strategies, the matchups, the rules and complexity, it’s like sports chess!”
Sasha laughed brightly at Marcy’s reply. They had finished both of their respective therapy and medical visits for the day, and were watching anime together in Anne’s room. In the aftermath of the invasion, the Boonchuy residence had become their retreat. The Wu’s, now living in a different state, were shocked to find out what their daughter had been through. Between having believed her to be dead, learning that she had chosen to run away to another world, and having no frame of reference for the trauma she was living with, there were a lot of feelings for both sides to work through. While they were talking (with the help of a family therapist), it was determined that letting her stay with the Boonchuy’s in the short term would be the best for her recovery. As for the Waybright’s, the custody battle had been hotly contested. Her father had eventually won out, but his reaction to Sasha’s night terrors and PTSD had been either negligence or verbal abuse (usually in the form of a lecture about how she was “besmirching the Waybright name”). Turns out neither of her parents particularly wanted to take responsibility for their only child, they simply couldn’t stand to let the other win in any way. So while Sasha was still a Waybright on paper, her dad’s abode was mostly a place to sleep, and rarely at that. The Boonchuy’s had been quick to step in again, a fact that Sasha was eternally grateful for.
“I have to admit, this is the kind of low stakes entertainment that I need right now. Can’t really do ‘saving the world’ shows without it hitting a little too close to home.” Sasha admitted. “Just make sure that if you pick up volleyball, you don’t go around saying things like ‘As long as I’m here, you’re invincible!’, people will think it’s a love confession” the girl teased.
Marcy gasped in fake shock “How dare you imply that it isn’t a love confession! Can you not see how hard Hinata and Kageyama are crushing on each other? I mean, Kageyama was afraid that he was too toxic to be trusted after middle school, and Hinata comes along and trusts him anyways! It’s just…so beautiful!”
“Ah, and the true reason you love this show comes out. I apologize for trying to get things ‘straight’ before, I should know better by now.”
“As if you aren’t just as into it, Miss Dual-wielder” Marcy shot back, a smirk adorning her face and her voice smug with implication.
The two were silent for all of two seconds, before turning into a giggling mess. The freedom to be openly themselves was a rare breath of fresh air, and they were oh so glad to have it with each other.
“Well as fun as this is, Anne should be getting home soon. I’m gonna head downstairs to set the table and nuke the dinner Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy left for us. Do you need anything before I go?” Sasha asked, standing up and dusting herself off.
“Ooooh I’ll join you! I’ve been feeling good with stairs recently, and wanna make sure Anne’s first day back went ok.” Marcy said, concern lacing her voice.
Sasha nodded, and so the two made their way downstairs. As they prepped everything for dinner, they were interrupted by an uncharacteristic entrance coming from the front door.
“God fucking dammit!”
-
Anne usually didn’t swear, and she never did so in front of her parents. But given the day she had, and the fact that her parents were still working at the restaurant, there was nothing holding back the words now erupting out of her mouth.
“Anne!” a pair of shouts came from the kitchen, and suddenly Sasha was in front of her faster than Anne thought was possible.
“Are you ok Anne? What happened?” Sasha asked frantically.
“Our fucking gym teacher is a fucking asshole, that’s what happened! Where the fuck does he get off, talking to me like that?!” Anne shouted.
Anne kicked her shoes off with an unusual amount of vigor, and then proceeded to pace around the living room as she continued to vent. “I mean, I lost my fucking arm, a fucking month ago no less, and he wants to give me shit for not being a fucking volleyball star? I’m doing my best out there! And I’m fucking traumatized! Maybe I have some recent experiences that make it reasonable for me to be anxious around fast moving projectiles! But no, can’t show that he actually cares about our wellbeing in any way, that would be weak, or coddling, or whatever other toxic masculinity bullshit of the week he thinks is an adequate substitute for an actual education!”
Having given voice to the anger and frustration she’d bottled up all day, Anne suddenly felt completely spent. Her pacing stopped, hot tears spilling from her eyes as she began to sink to the floor.
Sasha and Marcy were immediately at her sides, sitting alongside her. “Hug?” offered Marcy.
Anne nodded, her left arm hugging what was left of her right into herself. Two more pair of arms joined them, cradling Anne as if to shield her from the rest of the world. It was a nice reminder that she wasn’t alone, and that she didn’t have to be everyone’s hero all of the time. Sometimes, she was the one who needed saving.
“I’m so sorry you were put through that today. You’re amazing and you deserve none of it.”
“Yeah, I mean seriously fuck that guy. Him singling you out for torment is just…ugh it makes my blood boil.”
Marcy and Sasha’s words, combined with the physical comfort they were providing, helped Anne feel grounded and safe again.
“God, I wish we didn’t have to return to normal school, you know? It just feels…alien, after everything we’ve been through.”
Sasha and Marcy nodded; similar thoughts had been running through their heads a lot recently.
“You know, we could probably get something set up with Terri and Dr. Jan. The state sends money to parents who homeschool, maybe we could use that to pay them if they have the time to help us meet the requirements for our GEDs?” Marcy suggested.
Sasha nodded “That sounds way better than going back to Saint James for 4 more years. What do you think Anne?”.
Anne didn’t want to think too hard about it at the moment, as she had spent so much energy just explaining what had happened today. “Maybe…can we talk about it later?”
“Of course. As for gym class, I promise you won’t have to deal with it alone tomorrow”
“Sasha, no. Please don’t push yourself on my account. Come back when you’re ready.” Anne replied, concerned that Sasha’s tendency to ignore her own needs was rearing its head again.
“I am ready! And besides, you’re worth pushing myself for. Both of you are.” Sasha replied, a light blush adorning her face.
“Hey, I’ll be there too! I can do stairs now! That accursed, ADA non-compliant building can’t stop me!” Marcy jumped in.
Anne chuckled, taking a moment to appreciate how far the three of them had come. Things weren’t perfect; there were still feelings of guilt, hurt, and betrayal that they were working through. But they were working through them together, and Anne could honestly say that she trusted Sasha and Marcy now more than she ever had before.
“Thanks you two, it means the world that you have my back. And thanks for listening to my…colorful rant” Anne said, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed.
Marcy squeezed her a little tighter into the hug and gave her shoulder a rub. “Anytime Anna-banana! We care about you so much, and we figured that today might’ve been rough. We’re glad that you’re letting it out instead of bottling it up.”
“Yeah, and I count myself privileged to have heard the pure-hearted Anne Boonchuy drop so many cuss words in a single breath!” Sasha teased, lightening the mood “I feel like I’ve gotten to know a whole new side of you”
Anne lightly punched her friend in the arm “Come on, I still can’t hold a candle to you Sash. Oh, and my parents hear nothing about me cussing like a sailor, got it?”
“Hey, Yunan didn’t swear at all when I sailed with her!”
“Marbles, that was probably to protect your innocent ears. Yunan says fuck.”
“Yunan does not say fuck!”
“Does too!”
“Oh? Have you heard her say it? Support your claims, Sasha!”
As the two went back and forth, Anne started giggling, eventually breaking out into total laughter. The debate on whether the Head General of Newtopia said fuck was ridiculous enough to lift her spirits. As she wiped the tears from her face, she realized just how hungry she was.
“Ok ok, as fun as this debate is, can we continue it while we eat?” Anne asked “I’m staaaaarving”
As the three of them made their way to the dinner table and began eating, a warm fuzzy feeling filled Anne’s chest. She couldn’t name it, but this scene, the three of them sharing a meal together after a hard day, just felt right. Before she could interrogate her feelings further, Marcy asked her a question.
“Hey Anne? I thought of a strategy for gym class tomorrow, if you’d like to hear it of course. One that’ll shut up our annoying teacher.”
Anne raised an eyebrow. This should be good.
-
The next day came sooner than Anne would’ve wanted, but her powers unfortunately did not include time manipulation.
The first half of the day went fine, even better than it had yesterday due to Sasha and Marcy’s supportive presence. She no longer had to worry about making awkward small talk with kids who had seen her fighting off an invasion on the news, and instead could talk to the two people who were actually managing to treat her like a human being. Anyone who dared even think of giving them a hard time met Sasha’s hardened glare, one that flashed with just enough pink to remind you that she could split a meteor with her fist but not enough that anyone could point to as a genuine threat. Meanwhile, Marcy’s rambling about how inadequate the school’s educational standards were compared to Newtopia’s kept the three of them from feeling trapped in the hell that is Catholic middle school.
Despite this, Anne still felt a sense of apprehension as she stepped onto the volleyball court for gym class. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself of Marcy’s ridiculous sounding plan.
“Ok, so first part is making sure you never have to deal with digging a spike. Before you say anything, it’s not that I think you’re weak, you just have different traumas than us, ok? I’m not gonna be digging any spikes either, since I’ll be moving as little as possible. That means Sasha, you’ve got every ball that isn’t literally a free ball dropping right into one of our hands. Can you do that?”
Sasha nodded and gave a mock salute. “Any other requests while I’m at it?”
Marcy responded “Yep. Try to give me as many A-passes as possible, if that’s not too much trouble? I’m still not really able to run a whole lot.”
“So basically the passes that go right to you so you don’t have to move.”
“Right, and please make the passes high. Now Anne, here’s my idea for you. Feel free to shoot it down if you don’t like it.”
Anne appreciated the amount of care that Marcy was putting into sharing her plan, making it clear what she had in mind, why, while always allowing either of them to opt out.
“Basically, just focus on getting to where there’s no blockers, jumping, and spiking. Don’t worry about syncing up with the ball, you can even keep your eyes closed if it helps!”
Anne was confused. Sure, her attempts to compensate for mismatches in the few sets she got in class had caused her to lose her balance in the air, but how could she hit a ball without looking at it? ‘Keep your eyes on the ball’ was a saying for a reason!
“Mar Mar, I’m not totally against it, but how will I hit the ball if my eyes are closed?”
Marcy got a smile on her face that morphed from angelic in her care for Anne, to devilish in how much she was going to mess with their teacher.
“I’ll bring the ball to you.”
Welp, guess it was time to find out exactly what Marcy had meant.
It was the other team’s serve first, and they ripped a mean jump serve right at the back right corner of the court.
The gym teacher must have set them up to play the toughest team in the class. Prick.
It didn’t much matter to Sasha though, who could honestly cover the entire court faster than any middle schooler could send a ball to it, even without going pink. Her depth perception wasn’t the best, she had a slashed right eye to thank for that. Nevertheless, she refused to let a single ball drop on their side.
The ball flew up, Sasha having dug it successfully. It wasn’t exactly an A-pass, but it was close enough and high enough that Marcy could easily get underneath it.
Now comes the fun part thought Marcy, her eyes glowing green. Suddenly, a 3-dimensional grid of green lines visible only to her filled the gym, dividing the space into volleyball-sized cubes. Her abilities weren’t often as flashy as Anne’s or Sasha’s, but they would give her the precision she needed right now.
Ok. Anne’s starting her approach. Remember! How high can she jump? Where are the opponents? Account for the fact that she’s using her left hand. Don’t miss a single detail!
Before, getting in the zone meant that Marcy would completely tune out the world around her. Today? When Anne needed her? Being in the zone meant that she wouldn’t dare lose sight of Anne or anything that threatened her. Taking everything into account, she brought her hands up to make contact with the ball.
Here! This position, this timing, this angle!
She set the ball to Anne, watching as it shot out of her hands on track to to perfectly intercept with Anne’s swing.
Dead on!
The satisfying sound of plastic against skin, followed by the loud thud of the ball slamming into their opponents court, left everyone but Marcy stunned. The gym teacher looked like he had seen a ghost, the opposing team was still trying to process what the hell had happened, and Anne was looking at her reddened palm with disbelief.
“I hit the ball…Mar Mar I hit the ball!” Anne shouted ecstatically, jumping up and down.
Marcy and Sasha’s faces lit up upon seeing Anne’s smile. Her apprehension had melted into sheer joy, the same way it had for a much younger Anne when she nailed her first smash in tennis. Anne loved being an athlete, and the sheer satisfaction of the successful spike reminded her that she still was one. Sure, she’d have to relearn some skills, and maybe she’d need to rely on teammates in ways that she hadn’t before. But that made her stronger, not weaker.
Wiping away the tears of joy in her eyes, she gave both of her teammates vigorous high fives. “Ok girls, let’s do this.”
The rest of the match rolled on like a Newtopian parade, 13 more points being scored by team Calamity without a single point being taken in response. Even unable to jump serve, Sasha’s power serves carried enough heat to take a few service aces off of the weaker defenders on the other team. Even when their opponents did manage an attack in response, Sasha defended the court like a warrior possessed. Forget winning, she was going to shove their gym teacher’s shitty attitude down his own throat. No one would be taking a point from her and her girls.
Meanwhile, Marcy and Anne’s ridiculous quick attack was proving impossible for the other team to defend against. Even when they started commit blocking, Anne was often too fast to keep up with, scoring points off of slides and last minute changes in her approach. Eventually, all three of their opponents started prioritizing nothing but blocking Anne.
That’s fine, that’s exactly where I want you thought Marcy. She would then set Sasha instead, letting her crush the ball into a wide open court.
It came to 14-0, game point. While they had been absolutely crushing their opponents, all three girls were starting to show signs of exhaustion. Even for a stamina monster like Sasha, covering almost the entire court was a pretty herculean task. Similarly, Anne had been running and jumping a lot, trying to evade three blockers determined on shutting her down. Even Marcy, who had moved the least out of all of them, was starting to feel the fatigue. The mental exhaustion of ensuring that every set was perfectly on target, especially using her Calamity powers, was nothing to sneeze at either.
Sasha looked at her teammates and noted their collective state of exhaustion. They had to end this now. She aimed a powerful serve at the worst defender from their opponents, but he somehow managed to get it in the air. Not even waiting for a set, a girl from the other team fired a roll shot over the net.
What? She didn’t even jump to spike it! Ugh, come on legs, move!
Sasha dove, exerting the last of her strength just to keep the ball from hitting the floor. Forget an A-pass, that ball was headed out of bounds.
The other team relaxed figuring that this point was as good as theirs, only to see Marcy racing towards the quickly falling ball.
Sasha’s been running herself ragged to make my job easier, the least I can do is bring this last point home. thought Marcy. But she’s in no condition to spike, what should I-
She looked over, Anne was finishing her approach. Anne Boonchuy, who she had gotten stranded in another world not even a year ago, trusted her. Believed in her. Had absolute faith that the ball would come to her.
Marcy was not willing to let her down.
She leapt into the air, twisting her body in order angle herself back towards Anne, and fired off one last high tempo set. As the ball soared through the air, it felt like time slowed for Sasha and Marcy. The sight of Anne, suspended in air with a full smile on her face, reminded them of a bird joyously taking flight. She had always come back for them, even when they felt that they didn’t deserve it, and showed them that they could be and do better. Now, they wanted to be her wings, her safe landing, to keep seeing that smile on her face.
With one last resounding slap and thud, Anne had scored the final point. The game was over at 15-0, an almost unheard of score in a rally sport.
Anne looked at her left hand, the adrenaline still coursing through her body, as she treasured the slight stinging sensation in her palm. For the first time since Amphibia, she genuinely felt like a kid again. There was no world to save, no fear of never getting home. Just a ball in the air, and three touches to connect.
She looked over at Sasha, who was helping Marcy to her feet after that last play, and rolled that word over in her mind. Connect. It pained her to admit that before Amphibia, she didn’t truly feel connected to her friends. Sure they had cared for each other in their own ways, but there was some wall between them on a deeper level. But now Anne realized that Sasha and Marcy, beyond even their commitment to be better, were truly starting to open their hearts to her. This must have been what she was feeling during dinner last night. The wall that had once loomed in front of her had crumbled, and made way for true connection with Sasha and Marcy, as well as some other feelings that she found difficult to name. A warm smile on her face, she walked over and wrapped the two in a hug as best she could.
“Thank you both so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you two” Anne’s eyes began to well up with tears
“Aw Anne, give yourself more credit! You were amazing out there! Like seriously, you scored so many points!” Marcy exclaimed, pointing to the score cards for emphasis
Before Anne could deflect praise to her teammates, Sasha pulled back from the group hug and put a hand on Anne’s shoulder.
“You are so strong Anne, you’re incredible with or without us. But the point is you don’t have to fight alone, not ever.”
Marcy pulled back from the hug as well, shooting Sasha a knowing look. “What do you say, Sash? Are we gonna do it?”
Anne gave the two a quizzical look. Sasha groaned, “Ugh, there goes the last of my reputation. Yeah yeah, I’m in”
Anne continued to be incredibly confused, as both girls faced her.
“one, two, three” Sasha and Marcy counted together under their breath
“As long as we’re here, you’re invincible!” They shouted in unison, pointing a thumb into their chests for emphasis.
what?
wait.
What?!?
Anne took a full five seconds to process what had just happened. Marcy had a self-satisfied grin on her face, while Sasha tried to look serious. That effort was thwarted by her beet red face though.
“BWAHAHAHAHA what the heck was that? Hahahaha seriously, seriously, what manga did you two get that from? And the ‘one, two, three” that I totally heard you do? That was a nice touch!” Anne was dying. I mean, it was cute. It was endearing. It was even inspiring. But it was also the funniest fucking thing to ever happen in gym class. This had probably been Marcy’s idea, but the fact that Sasha had gone along with it? She was going to enjoy this so. much.
“Sh-shut up! We’re just trying to say that we have your back! Right Marcy? Why are you laughing too? Ugh I am so embarrassed” Sasha proceeded to bury her face in her hands.
“Hey don’t be! It genuinely made my day, thank you. Never letting you live it down though!” Anne finished in a sing-song voice.
“Hey, enough gloating you three! Get off the court or you’re all getting zeros for the unit!” their gym teacher was clearly looking for any reason to not give them the credit they deserved for their flawless victory.
“We’re going, we’re going! But gotta say, you don’t exactly intimidate me any more teach. Didn’t you hear? Apparently I’m invincible with these two here.” Anne chuckled as she made her way to the bleachers, Sasha and Marcy following close behind.
As much as she would tease them about their declaration, Anne had to admit that she did feel invincible with Sasha and Marcy by her side. Sasha, now always ready to support without needing to be in control, yet fiercely persistent as ever. Seriously, she hadn’t let a single point get scored on them! And Marcy, coming up with brilliant plans to help her, but also being open to hearing improvements from others. And it was obvious that she was trying her best to think about the effects her actions might have on others. Anne couldn’t be prouder of how all three of them have grown, and they would continue to grow together. Her step felt lighter, and suddenly her shoulders felt free of tension that she hadn’t even realized that they had been carrying. Just as Marcy and Sasha had supported her today, she wanted to be there for them, the three of them facing whatever life had to throw at them together.
Wait, was she imagining a life together with them? Both of them?
Crap, Anne thought, I think I might have really fallen for them